“The group Casino announced today the sale of 121 stores“, “in accordance” to the agreements concluded on January 24 with Auchan and the Les Mousquetaires group, and on February 8 with Carrefour.
“This transaction is carried out on the basis of an enterprise value of the sold stores of 698 million euros”, specifies the press release from Casino, which changed hands at the end of March and now has Daniel Kretinsky, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière and the Attestor fund as main shareholders.
The group’s debt incurred by the previous management had pushed it to multiply disposals, including the sale of almost all of the large format stores, an activity which nevertheless constituted the historic heart of Casino.
May 31 and July 1
In details, The Musketeers bought back on Tuesday 65 stores and a drive, Auchan 32 stores And Carrefour 23 stores.
“The sales of the remaining 166 stores will take place in two stages, on May 31, 2024 and July 1, 2024,” it is specified in the press release.
While the dismantling de Casino – which brings together brands well known to the French, such as Monoprix And Franprix – raises fears among its employees, the group was keen to point out that the three buyers “are committed to taking over all employment contracts” assigned to the transferred stores.
Auchan, Carrefour and Les Mousquetaires have also promised to “maintain the provisions and benefits resulting from the Casino collective status for a minimum period of 15 months from the date of completion of the transfer.
Downsizing
For employees who are not affected by these three waves of transfers, the future is more uncertain.
THE “reorganization project”, presented last week to staff representatives, plans to reduce Casino’s workforce from 1,300 to 3,200 positionsa wide range while waiting to know the number of stores and warehouses which can still be taken over by September.
